1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to brown out detection techniques, and more particularly, to devices and method for detecting brown out events with optimized response times, minimized power consumption and uncompromised reliability and accuracy.
2. Description of the Related Art
Brown out events are well known in the art of electronics and pertain to conditions in which the voltage supplied to a particular electronic device or system falls below the minimum operating voltage allowable for the given device or system. During a brown out event, when the supply voltage falls below the minimum operating voltage allowable for the particular device, an associated processor, microprocessor, controller, microcontroller, or the like, may become corrupt and lose functionality. Accordingly, it is ideal to quickly detect such events, reset the associated processor and to resume operations when normal operating conditions and supply voltages are revived.
Currently existing electronic devices and systems employ brown out detectors (BODs), and the like, which do such things. For instance, in an effort to prevent data corruption or any other negative effects possibly caused by brown outs, a typical BOD may output a signal, or the like, to reset the associated processor of the device in response to a detected low supply voltage or brown out event. A typical BOD may further be able to detect when the supply voltage returns to acceptable levels so as to re-enable normal operations when appropriate, for example, by way of a power on reset (POR), or the like. Triggering such a reset enables the processor and the device to resume operations from a known or default state of the processor as soon as the supply voltage returns within acceptable operating conditions. Although currently existing devices may provide accurate detection of brown out events as well as reliable safeguards for electrical systems, there is still significant room for improvement.
While all typical electronics are susceptible to brown out events, brown out events are more prevalent in portable devices, which generally have less secure connections between the device and a power supply, such as a battery, or the like, powering the device. As such, BODs are considered more of a necessity in portable devices than in stationary devices. However, when used with portable devices, BODs may considerably shorten the life of an associated battery. This is because BODs typically require a constant source of steady state current in order to function properly, which in turn, consumes a considerable amount of power.
Accordingly, there is a need for providing more energy efficient devices which consume considerably less power, and in terms of portable devices, allow longer battery runtimes. Moreover, there is a need for improved techniques for detecting brown out events which provide uncompromised reliability and accuracy with significantly reduced power consumption. Specifically, there is a need for eliminating the continuous draw of current as found in typical BODs and to improve upon BOD response times without adversely affecting performance.